


D-Day

by Espileon707



Category: Hetalia - Fandom, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: D-Day, From the Country's point of view, Gen, More info on this in the description, i hope you all like it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-16
Packaged: 2017-12-26 19:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/969331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Espileon707/pseuds/Espileon707
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Event's of D-Day as told from the perspective of the Nations who fought during the Battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	D-Day

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this years ago, and I'm still proud of it. This was my final exam for my Sophomore History Class in High School. We could do anything so I chose to make a fan fiction. I am proud to say I got the highest grade in the class! But I'll let you all judge it. Please tell me what you think!

 

They planned it all, 5,000 ships and 150,000 men, all waiting the final hour until Operation Overlord, took place. Arthur Kirkland, the personification of Great Britain, anxiously looked over the last minute details. His thick eyebrows in a permanent furrow Germany controlled nearly all of Europe, the French, Dutch, Czechs, and many others were starving and having their own people sent away to whom knows where. England sighed again, he couldn't worry about that now, they had spent months preparing for this invasion. America brought in General Eisenhower, to lead the assault. Eisenhower was very serious about there being no alternative; this operation was for victory and must not fail!

"Heh! No pressure right?" England thought, he had close ties with France and he knew that if this failed he might lose France for good. Every detail had been scrupulously considered, each branch of the American, English, and Canadian military poured in their ideas and problems with every aspect of the first outline. It took several months to get all sides of the military to agree on the terms. Surprisingly, all of the top brass in the Allied forces managed to keep out of it, even Alfred!

Alfred, the personification of America was always a bit of a nosey person especially with the military.

But all plans were made, the British 6th and 1st air divisions along with the U.S. 82nd and U.S. 101st air divisions would drop the Paratroopers in the area the morning of June 6th. At the same time the 506th PIR would bomb the coast. The assault by air was to be led by the British Air Chief Marshal Arthur W. Tedder. They had planned the bombings carefully as to not destroy their 'fog of confusion', as America happily called England's Operation Deception. England laid the tactics report down smiling. He remembered telling the King about it, he couldn't stop laughing! He pictured the exact day and exact thoughts of his boss, Winston Churchill and the King….

Prime Minister Winston Churchill winced as England's piercing laugh filled the room. It was odd to see the normally very serious country laughing so openly. Churchill looked up at the confused King.

"England please stop, you are being too loud!" Churchill firmly ordered the blonde haired man.

"S-sorry, S-sir! It's just *giggle* bloody Kraut!" England giggled out, getting a confused look from the King.

"What exactly did the Germans do that is so funny??" The King asked, correcting England who had a nasty habit of calling the German's krauts. England began to explain trying to hold back a laughing fit.

"Well you see your majesty, General Patton returned recently and with D-day coming up we set up a base of operations in the south of England. Its main point of attack is Pas De Calais…" England let out a small fit of snickers. "General Patton is in charge, there are cadets going in and out, and the Germans found out about it…"

"WHAT?!" The King yelped surprised, but was quickly calmed by Churchill.

"But it's all fake! The Cadets are only passing through, the trucks and tanks are all inflatable and the sounds are from loud speakers. BLOODY HELL! The spies are even fake, they’re our spies!!!! And we did the same thing up north, and the Norwegians fell for it as well!!!" England collapsed in a fit of laughter, as Winston Churchill and the King looked on happily believing that their country was showing some sign of hope.

The memory faded.

"Kirkland Sir!!" Arthur snapped out of his thoughts by the call of an airman. England looked up to the young man who was standing at firm attention.

"At ease solider, what is it?" the man relaxed.

"Sir! The planes are ready for the first round of bombings! We await your order to move out!" Arthur nodded.

"Very well." England walked out of the bunker into the air field. America was standing there waiting for him.

"About time! We're going to run behind schedule if you didn't get out here when you did!" America stated, his voice lacking any trace of his usual excited nature.

"I apologize Alfred," England turned to the line of pilots. "Alright men! Move out!" He called.

"MEN TO THE AIR!" America yelped out, a sense of urgency in his voice. The men scrambled to their planes. The planes took off as the full moon rose just above the bunkers, casting a solemn light on the men. The battle for Europe began.

 

A loud bang from a bomb resounded in Ludwig's ears. Ludwig was the personification of Germany, and right now he was not happy.

"No, no no! England that bastard! His troops are stationed to attack Norway and Pas de Calais! Not Normandy!" Germany sighed, at least Rommel prepared for this. His best tactician and general with valuable experience from World War I had thought almost everything through. Sure, most of the seasoned veterans were in Norway or Pas de Calais, and all Normandy had were young, and old men and a few veterans, and most were inexperienced. Germany gathered himself and left his station walking along the bluff above the beach inspecting the defenses Rommel built.

"88mm and 105mm's accounted for, positioned to face the beach check, French, Russian and Polish 75mm's accounted for," Germany surveyed the Tobruks, the large concrete lined holes were still intact as more bombs exploded to the east and the west. Peering in one, Germany checked the network of tunnels, the sketches of the area's weak spots and best places to position yourself to fire were still in order. "Tobruks accounted for, tunnel network in order," Germany turned his attention to Point-du-Hoc with its six-gun battery of massive 155s, perched on top of the perpendicular 100 foot cliff, an explosion sounding over head as a bomb hit the bluff. "Point-du-Hoc, accounted for, upper middle and lower firing trenches with machine gunners and riflemen, accounted for and ready to fight," Germany turned towards the beach again, standing on the crest of a Tobruk, his semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. Behind him another bomb exploded causing the soldiers in the trench to flinch.

"GET UP!" He barked at the cowering soldiers. Germany turned to the beach again seeing the Belgian gates, their iron framework standing proudly. "Belgian gates, heavy logs, and 6.5 million mines on shore and off, accounted for." Germany turned to his soldiers. "Alright everything is accounted for now, who wants to wake the Furhr?" None of them spoke and Germany knew why, no one wanted to wake Hitler because nearly everyone thought he was crazy, and therefore unpredictable.

"Very well, I will tell him." Germany went to the radio and began to contact the Furhr just as a call sounded from Juno Beach.

"THE ALLIES ARE APPROACHING!"

 

Several hours earlier:

 

America stood in the naval ship yard looking over Canada's fleet that in a few minutes was bound for Juno Beach. America was bound for Omaha, and Utah Beach, and England was to head for Sword and Gold Beach. Footsteps sounded behind America as Canada approached, his wavy hair hidden by his helmet and a rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Looks like someone remembered me." Canada joked knowing no one remembered the Canadian troops at Dieppe. America looked solemnly at Canada knowing how many people he had lost and how many more he was going to lose.

"Yeah, good luck out there Canada." America said reaching out his hand to shake Canada's. Canada took it and shook.

"I will see you either in victory or defeat." with that the country turned to his navy.

"ALRIGHT MEN! MOVE OUT!" Canada bellowed to his troops, the ships began to start up their engines rumbling. America waved one last time to his brother before turning his attention to his troops. England had left a few moments ago as well as the paratroopers from both England and America.

"ALRIGHT MEN! LET'S HEAD OUT! ONWARD TO VICTORY!" America called knowing it was cheesy but received a welcoming cheer from the nervous soldiers.

A few hours later America stood on the USS Texas, with the 2nd Rangers Battalion. "The battle for the freedom of Europe has begun." America thought as the sound of artillery, gunfire, and angry curses in German grew louder. "The eyes of the world are upon us." (Hanks and Spielberg Part 2) The words of Eisenhower echoed in the country's head as paratroopers floated down to random spots beyond the beach.

 

　

England was coming closer to Gold Beach, his objective was to break through the port of Arromanches and head inland to a road junction at Bayeux and meet up with Canadian troops at Juno. England smiled as he looked over the 10 mile beach; most of the Germans had concentrated their artillery and soldiers at the towns of La Rivière and Le Hamel.

"Big mistake!" England whispered as his 'Hobart funnies' approached the beach near Arromanches. He had to explain to Alfred many times the reason these assault vehicles were called funnies, it was because they only did one thing! Like the Sherman Flail tank that cleared away mines and the Churchill crocodile tanks that were reserved as flamethrowers. They were affective assault vehicles but they were a bit funny. Suddenly, shots rang from ahead; German snipers were aiming at the UDT, or Underwater Demolition Team. They were clearing away the obstacles ahead for the landing crafts. Arthur gritted his teeth; he needed those obstacles broken down. Then a flash of insight.

"Men! It seems we cannot clear away all of the obstructions near the beach," a groan of surprise and frustration came from the men. "But the landing crafts and tanks can break them! If you damage the outer layer of your tank or assault vehicle, it's alright! Hedgehogs, Tetrahendas, and Stakes are easy to break through with your LCT'S, Go flat out! Our craft are strong enough to flatten the obstacles." Beyond the ship lay a stretch of water where the wooden and metal stakes stood, along with the oddly shaped and spiked Tetrahendas off shore, and the five foot spikes buried in the sand known as Hedgehogs. There were some objections to this mainly from the engineers onboard who would have to repair the LCT'S. But then a cry of,

"DAMN THE TORPEDOES! FULL SPEED AHEAD!" resounded from one of the marine commandos. Many more joined in, England nodded. (Ambrose, 520)

"Now, may God bless you, And MOVE OUT!" The men of the HMS Ajax saluted and took to the LCT'S. England followed them determined to succeed.

 

Germany watched as England approached Gold beach; Ludwig gave a small chuckle, he had lined the beach with mines and had great points of fire from the beach houses. Then, a familiar whistling sound was heard overhead. Nearby the British Air Force, as well as the Navy, bombed one of the beach houses setting it ablaze.

"Damn it!" Germany had forgotten that the houses and resorts were made of wood and easily caught fire. "PUT OUT THOSE FLAMES! AND KEEP AIMING FOR THE UDT'S AND LCT'S! WE CAN'T LET THE ENGLISH BREAK THE LINE!" Germany barked at the Veterans Division stationed there. Germany looked out again and saw a few of the LCT's landing. Germany glared down at them.

"How did they get past the Hedgehogs, Stakes and Tetrahendas?" He thought as a resounding call from England was heard.

"DAMN THE TORPEDOES! FULL SPEED AHEAD!" Many other soldiers copied as they bulldozed over every obstacle full on. Germany was slightly surprised and yet a bit fascinated with England's bold nature, which he had only briefly seen during the Battle of Britain. Ludwig turned to watch as a LCT grazed by an obstacle and made it to the beach. Assault vehicles and tanks were pouring out onto the beach with the commandos following closely.

"FIRE, FIRE!!! STOP THOSE TROOPS!" Germany called out desperately as the English began to engage the Germans stationed at La Rivière. Then a cry was heard to the east, as the Canadians fought fiercely, Germany quickly ran towards Juno to engage the Canadians, silently cursing.

"Americans to the west, Canadians to the east, and British right in the middle! We're in for a rough time!"

 

An hour or so earlier, Canada looked over the beach he and his men were about to invade. He felt a great amount of worry, considering how much he lost at Dieppe; three-quarters of his men, killed, wounded, or captured. Canada did not want that again; and the rocky offshore wasn't helping either. The Canadian forces were delayed half an hour so rather than start at 0730 they were to start the invasion at 0800. Canada looked over his men; many had seen Dieppe and shared his worry. Canada shook his head; this wasn't the time for worry! To keep himself busy Canada went over their objectives. They had to break through German defenses and push in towards Caen and secure the location there. Then move 11 miles inland to the Carpiquet air field and take that, as well as meet up with the British forces to the west. Canada's mind began to race, he knew the immediate problem was a low grade artillery division, but that could be simple. However, he remembered that there might be a Panzer Division to the south-east of Caen. Canada shivered if the Panzer Division was headed by General Rommel he wouldn't stand much of a chance. Then, Canada got an idea, one that normally would not cross the usually peaceful country's mind; Juno Beach was revenge for Dieppe. Canada scanned the coast line; no doubt the enemy knew they were there.

"Eleven heavy batteries of 155mm's, nine medium batteries, and then mostly 75's. Bunkers are supposedly well fortified, and there seem to be some earthen trenches along the coast." Canada whispered, the time to begin was approaching and the tide was rising.

"MEN!" Canada began to address the men of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade, and a few American Rangers, who were on loan. 

"Beyond those rocky outcrops are the Germans. You remember what they did to us at Dieppe," From the crowd came an angry chorus of men.

"Well today is a day for revenge!" Cries of agreement sounded tenfold from the ships' men and crew. "The Germans have about eleven heavy batteries 155mm's, nine medium batteries, and then the rest are 75's, WE CAN take this! The area from Arromanches to Ouistreham is heavily armed and probably the most well defended, then St.-Aubin and Langrune are also very well defended." There were worried looks as men heard what they were up against.

"But we must take these points! To achieve our objective of Caen! Now I'm not going to lie to you, there may be a Panzer Division headed by General Rommel to the south-east of Caen. If there is, we must not back down, Men, TO THE BEACHES FOR DIEPPE!"

"FOR DIEPPE!" The men echoed as the tide hit its peak and the LCT'S began to surge forward to the beach. Canada followed ready to give Germany pay back for Dieppe. As the LCT's drew closer a cry was heard.

"MINES!" Beyond the rocky mouth of the River Seulles lay mines perched onto Stakes and Hedgehogs. Canada gritted his teeth, Stakes were just wooden and sometimes metal stakes driven into the ground and easy enough to avoid. Hedgehogs on the other hand were five foot iron spikes buried in the sand ready to skewer soldiers.

"PUSH FORWARD!" He yelled out as his LCT landed and the Armored Division began to move out the tanks behind the infantry, thus confusing the ranks. As the first LCT pulled out there was a resounding BANG! As the landing craft exploded, Canada tried to look around but the visibility was so bad that he could only see about a yard or two ahead of him. 

"MOVE MOVE! WE NEED TO TAKE THE DEFENSES!" He called to his troops as they took heavy gunfire. Cursing Canada pushed ahead with his men, slowly realizing their bombardments beforehand had overshot the German defenses which were still intact. The German soldiers were fully aware of the oncoming attack.

"MOVE THE DD TANKS TO COURSEULLES NOW!" Canada barked to the men of the 7th Canadian Brigade. The tanks landed and the men began to approach the town, but the tanks weren't moving. "WHERE ARE THE ENGINE UNITS?" Canada called over the roar of gunfire and curses.

"THEY ARE STILL BACK AT THE SHIP WITH THE ENGINEERS SIR! THEY SHOULD ARRIVE IN ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES!" A soldier from the Armored Division called back. Canada cursed silently, hoping his troops, made of lumberjacks, miners, farmers, tough outdoors men, as well as a few Irish men, all of whom had volunteered for this; would hold their own in the town of Courseulles.

 

Germany cursed again, the troops stationed in Juno were either too old, too young or disabled from the eastern front. They didn't stand a chance against the young and very well trained Canadian troops; they were also outnumbered with only 400 Germans and about 2,400 Canadians, at least that's as many as Germany had counted as he had sprinted from Gold Beach. On top of that, all of his artillery were about a kilometer apart and had to be dragged to different positions by horses. Germany groaned, and then noticed the disabled DD tanks and the LCT's that were exploding as they left the beach. Along the beach, Germany could see headless Canadians and figured that they must have been run over.

"Stupid Canadians, hiding behind their own tanks!" As Germany mused over the Canadians, his attention turned to the town of Courseulles. As he did his jaw dropped, the town had been taken while the DD tanks were still waiting for their engine units. A cry of excitement came from the village and Germany could barely make out the figure of Canada, with a few bullet wounds in his arm. Germany gritted his teeth. And further East Germany made out the Canadian 8th as they surged forward the 100 yards of beach without any support towards the German strong points, firing away. Germany began to fire round after round at the troops but to no avail. The points around Bernieres to the east had been taken.

"DAMN IT!" Germany yelled out as a call on his radio grabbed his attention.

"The English have taken La Rivière and they are heading for Le Hamel!" Germany was caught by surprise as another call was heard from the American beaches.

"SIR! We need you at Utah Beach! The Americans are approaching Pointe-Du-Hoc!" Germany cursed as his troops had to push inland to flee from the Canadians. To the east the British were meeting up with the Canadian troops at Gold, but the troops from Sword Beach were still nowhere to be seen. Germany called into the radio.

"Hold off the best you can at Point-Du-Hoc! I have to check on Sword Beach!" Germany took off towards Sword Beach at the same time as England who was also beginning to worry for his troops.

 

Out on Omaha Beach America was taking heavy casualties. The beach had not been bombed beforehand, and was not being bombed at the moment because of the overcast skies, shielding the beach from the planes. America sat behind an over turned landing craft reloading his gun.

"DAMN IT! Why did this have to happen to us?" Alfred cursed silently as mortars roared overhead. Everything seemed to go wrong from the start. First there was a swift current that pushed all of the LCT's down to the east and caused them to run aground. Then, tanks ended up farther away from their destination and at some points there was no cover fire! America had lost 41% of his first wave this way.

"But the engineers did manage to blow six openings in the obstacles." America thought as he popped up to fire a few rounds. As he did, a bullet whizzed by his ear, a little too close.

"Holy!" America fired once and ducked down checking for blood, luckily there was none. Alfred looked out to the 29th Infantry Division that was approaching, he could see many of the men had sea-sickness and yet they still had to run the 200 yards to the sea wall then to the beach with machine gun fire coming down. One man dove down next to him; rifle in hand, shaking a bit, America saw him look up over the capsized LCT. A round of machine gun bullets whizzed by him as he quickly ducked down.

"First time out here?" Alfred asked, the man nodded. "Well here's a tip when you go up to look, try shooting at the same time." 

America said as he popped up and shot multiple rounds before ducking down. The man nodded and tried, successfully firing a few shots.

"Good, now head out further up, I'll follow." America said as he followed the young man. This process of fire, hide, run, fire, hide had been taking place since the first landing and was getting monotonous. As the man ran a familiar whistling of a mortar was heard over head. 

"MORTAR!" America yelled as he dove out of the way, the young man wasn't so lucky. As the smoke cleared America saw the mutilated body of the man spread out across the area.

"Oh my God!!" America whispered as he dodged behind a turned over tank, his mind racing then jumping to a report he had received earlier. "Company A's already out of action?!" 

Company A of the 29th Division had sustained 66% casualties, within only fifteen minutes of landing on the beach. (Williams and Barratt)

"Report!" Alfred called into the radio as the German gunners went crazy.

"There are only 4 DD tanks here on Easy Red and only a hundred men!" reported one man

"Company F of Easy Green Sir! We have lost about 50% of our men but Company G has reached the objective intact!" Another reported.

"Good!" America called into the radio. America had started with the Rangers onboard the USS Texas but had jumped to Omaha Beach with the main Ranger force and was now fighting his way back to Pointe-Du-Hoc with the rest of the Rangers. The objectives of the Infantry at Omaha was to gain the beach heads between Port-En-Bessin and the Vire River then head southwards towards St. Lo's, as well as have the corps push beyond the Aure River towards the Cerisy Forest area. America sighed; he was needed at Point-Du-Hoc along with the other Rangers. Companies D, E, and F should have the area secure by now, but then again they were with him here at Omaha. Taking in a sharp breathe America stood up and bolted towards Utah Beach, yelling.

"IF ANYTHING MAJOR HAPPENS CALL ME VIA RADIO! COME ALONG RANGERS! TO POINTE-DU-HOC!"

 

　

England arrived at Sword Beach; the area was small, only large enough for a brigade. The objective here was to get enough men on shore then push inland to take Caen, then link up with the 6th Airborne Division. England turned out to sea and saw three German E-boats retreating and the Norwegian destroyer, Svenner, sinking. England turned his attention inland and saw his troops pushing towards the town of Hermanville. England ran up to them, rifle close at hand.

"Report!" He huffed as he reached the troops.

"There is a Panzer Division guarding Periers Rise here, and at Queens Red Beach there is strong German resistance. But the East Yorks are pushing through. All sides of our assault are sustaining heavy casualties, sir!" England nodded to the man.

"All right, see what you can do about the Panzer's, I'm going to see what's holding up our boys by Juno." England ordered as he left for Lion, the area closest to Juno. Once there, he noticed his men pinned down in foxholes. Heavy machine gun fire rained down on him, and England quickly ducked into a foxhole. One of the men next to him had a radio working and was contacting the Polish destroyer, Slazak.

"Give it here." England told the man quickly. The young man handed over the radio.

"Feliks!" England called into the radio. Feliks, the personification of Poland, was currently under Russian and German regime but had managed to sneak away with a few men and ships.

"England! So how's it, like, going out there?" Feliks answered in his feminine like voice.

"Badly, I've got men pinned down out on Lion and we need to get to Juno, can you bomb the Germans for about twenty minutes?" England asked.

"Oh sure. So like, where are they?" England sighed; he only had a general idea of where the German batteries were so he told Feliks that.

"Alright! Men fire away!" Feliks called over the radio as a bombardment of 4 inch guns went off.

 

Germany looked over the bombardment of his positions at Lion. Poland was hitting his defenses but was missing some of the major points of defense. In the distance Germany heard a serenade of bagpipes coming from the beach and cheers echoed from the Scottish troops.

"S-sir? Should we shoot the pipers?" One soldier asked Germany.

"Nah they are Dumkohfs focus your fire on the people carrying guns!" Germany replied. 

"Those Dumkohfs!" Dumkohf means idiot in German. (Manley 8) Satisfied Germany turned towards Utah where America had just arrived with the 2nd Rangers Battalion to secure Pointe-Du-Hoc. Germany noted that Russians shouted when attacking, the English sang or played music, the French did something but the Americans just kept coming, it was all business, nothing else.

 

America looked up the cliff as he approached with the main Ranger force with their commander Lt. Col. Rudder at the head. Alfred was panting and his leg was bleeding from a bullet having grazed him. Company D was supposed to go to the west side of the heights, and E and F to the east. But, because they had been pulled to Omaha they were all clumped to the east of the cliffs. The objective was to take out the guns and then head inland and cut the coastal highway that connected Vierville and Grandcamp. Then link up with the main force from Omaha and head for Grandcamp, and link up with forces from Utah Beach. The group had landed three miles east of their objective originally but had managed to make it back to their objective. They were thirty minutes off schedule so the Germans had settled back into their positions after the bombing that had happened before hand. The cliffs were 30 feet wide and cratered from bombs. America turned and looked over the LCA's; they had been equipped with rocket propelled grappling hooks for the climb, while the DUKW'S had firemen ladders. Only problem was that the bombings had left a pile of debris at the base of the cliffs leaving no way for the DUKW'S. However, the pile of debris gave the Rangers cover and a shorter distance to climb. Bullets whizzed by as the first grappling hook shot up only to fall back down.

"Damnation! Soaked through!" America muttered. 

"They are not going to work very well, the ropes are soaked through." Alfred told the men, as explosions and gun fire sounded both near and far.

"Keep trying." Alfred ordered. Many more attempts failed, while some succeeded, until the group finally reached the top with only 15 dead.

"Ok, break up into your groups. Once you have accomplished your mission regroup here. There will be a group that stays behind to set up a command center." The men nodded. "Alright, go!" the men broke into their groups; Alfred went with one to find and destroy the guns. His heart was racing and his finger danced around the trigger.

"Those guns could be anywhere! And those Krauts could be anywhere as well!" America thought as the sounds of battle whistled in the distance. Heading south the group came upon an apple orchard, where one man found something.

"Sir! I found the guns!" Sure enough the guns were stationed in the orchard. "Why do you think they are here?" one asked.

"Probably to keep them from being destroyed in the bombardment." Alfred offered, taking out thermite grenades. 

"Ok, all set?" America asked once the explosives had been set, everyone nodded.

"Ok." Alfred readied the thermite grenades and then bolted as the deafening BANG sounded signaling the grenades had done their job.

"Let's get back to the others." he said, as the group turned to the north.

 

Germany was confused and angry, the Rangers had Pointe-Du-Hoc and his men had taken a long time to recover. But, now they were moving out to initiate a counterattack. The 916th and the 726th were with Germany at this point, all armed and ready. Creeping up towards the Rangers, Ludwig saw Alfred with the others; readying his gun, he fired. Alfred and the Rangers were caught by surprise when Germany and his troops appeared. Ludwig's shot had grazed Alfred's face. The Rangers dove for cover as the Germans opened fire. There was a volley of fire and the exchange of bullets continued. By nightfall, Alfred and his group had been pushed back 200 yards into a defensive position. Ammunition was running low and the Rangers had lost 1/3 of their men. Lt. Col. Rudder was not pleased and was silently cursing. The Germans had pulled back but had done so quietly enough to leave the Rangers thinking they were still out there. Ludwig grinned; his enemy was dazed and confused.

"So, is the fog of war." Ludwig mumbled as he readied for another counterattack. By the end of the next day the Rangers were at a standstill, and had no food. The USS Texas was bombarding the Germans but with little affect, and the 5th Ranger Division was still not there to relieve them. Germany had no idea that there was another division on its way but he was impressed that the Rangers were holding their own for so long. Then a radio call came from Sword Beach.

"Sir the British have taken Lion sur Mer!" Germany growled, as he was filled in on how the Panzer Division had been defeated at Sword Beach. Then, the sound of gunfire was heard. Germany looked over to the Rangers and noticed that the Rangers had been replaced with another Ranger Battalion that was better equipped. Cursing in German, Ludwig began to fire.

 

On 1 July 1944, England looked back on Sword Beach's bombed out terrain as men and supplies poured in for the fight in the countryside beyond. The three mile wide beach had held out for them considerably well. Despite Feliks' best efforts, no matter how many times he bombarded the German's at Lion sur Mer, they refused to move. Eventually, Feliks ran out of ammunition and had to leave the men stranded. On the other side of the beach the men had broken through to Periers Rise but they had been held back by a counter attack by the 21st Panzer. So England and his men were pinned down until later that next day when a second round of paratroopers approached their position and scared the Germans away. England smiled, after that they made it to Lion sur Mer easily and filled in the gap between Sword and Juno. England looked out at the expanse of hedgerows in front of him, it took them so long to get here and he was going to make it count.

 

Canada gulped down another sip of cognac; the residents in the nearby town Courseulles had gratefully given them some spirits. It was now July 1st as Canada looked over his newly arrived men. The Higgins boats couldn't move very well across the coastline so these men had just arrived about an hour late. Canada smiled, they had broken the German holdings quickly and with some ease; now Canada was sending men through the hedgerows beyond the beach. It was difficult and slow but they were progressing. Over all, Canada got lucky; he lost only 1000 men to the Germans and succeeded in achieving revenge for Dieppe.

"Alright men, we're heading into the hedgerows. It will be slow and the enemy can be behind any turn, so be on your guard." Canada warned the men before he ushered them out, hopeful that everything would end happily.

 

Germany cursed as he dodged back and forth between hedges. He lost the high ground on Pointe-Du-Hoc and he was slowly being pushed back towards Germany and out of France. Passing by a stationary Panzer Unit, Germany ran back to the next line where he had machine gunners stationed. Ludwig pulled up next to them, ready to fire at the American troops that were coming their way. He just could not believe his boss Hitler; it seemed that even after 26 days defending Normandy the Furhr still thought that this wasn't the real invasion.

"I'm starting to think he really is insane!" Germany whispered but did not share this thought with anyone for he knew he would be punished.

 

As America took a break, he was beginning to get news from the beaches of Utah and Omaha. Omaha, unfortunately, had been disastrous, the first wave alone lost 2,000 men and more were lost. Little progress was made on the Omaha Beach. Easy Red sector lost about 70% of its men and nearly all of its DD tanks. Easy Green on the other hand managed to successfully reach the first shingle with only a few causalities. Out on Utah the Rangers kept the high ground on Pointe-Du-Hoc even after the multiple counterattacks. The beach was taken easily compared to Omaha. They were able to break into the hedgerows at Utah and that was where America was heading.

 

Fast forward; and America began to push troops through the hedgerows on July, 1st. It was very slow and around every corner there was either a Panzer or gunners, or both! America sighed as he neared another intersection in the hedgerows.

"Alright, here goes." He mumbled signaling for two other soldiers to follow him. He took a step out to see a panzer facing the opposite direction, and nothing down the other way. America signaled for the rest to follow him quietly. The group began to sneak up on the panzer and its men.

"Open fire!" Alfred yelped as his men fired on the Germans. Once they were out of the way he dropped some grenades into the panzer and ran. The panzer ended up destroyed and the men pushed forward. The Germans had the upper hand because they had time to station themselves. Also, Allied tanks could not push through the hedgerows without getting stuck and their vulnerable undersides exposed, the root systems were so deep and intricate that instead of going through or breaking the hedges the tanks would drive up the hedges. Additionally, air support was difficult for the pilots would either catch everything on fire or hit their own troops, either way they endangered the Allies. So the majority of the hedgerow assault was on foot and painfully slow. Alfred began to approach another intersection, popping his head out; he was met with machine gun fire. As the bullets flew, Alfred smiled.

"If this is the price of freedom so be it, we survived D-day and that's what matters the most." He thought. America looked back on the events of the last few weeks; what if they hadn't been successful? Would the Allies have the morale to continue? Would England be the next country taken? Alfred continued to shoot at the retreating Germans, knowing that the Allies' prospects were looking up.

 

Bibliography

 

Ambrose, Stephen E., D-Day June 6, 1944: the Climatic Battle of World War II, New York, Touchstone, 1995, Print.

 

Keegan, John, Six Armies in Normandy, New York, Viking Press, 1982, Print.

 

Manley, Brendan, "Bill Millin, 88, the Bagpiper Who Buoyed Spirits on Sword Beach", Military History, January, 2011: 8, Print.


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